In many applications bearings are subjected to different temperature conditions. Sometimes the bearing (or parts of the bearing) are disposed on components that respond to temperature changes differently than the bearing. For example, the components may expand or deform differently in response to a temperature change. This may occur, for example, when rolling-element bearings are used in an aluminum housing. Therefore, in some cases, temperature compensation elements are provided between a ring of the rolling-element bearing and the housing.
Conventional rolling-element bearings are known that have a flange on an outer ring. The flange is disposed in a first region on an outer surface of the outer ring and has a larger diameter than a second region on the outer surface of the outer ring. With some conventional outer rings, an elastomer ring is disposed on the second region having the smaller diameter than the flange and functions as an element for temperature compensation. For this purpose the elastomer ring is pushed onto the outer ring, for example.
The elastomer ring usually has a very large thermal expansion coefficient. If the outer ring and the housing expand at different rates, the elastomer ring should expand at such a rate that at least in the axial direction no clearance arises between the housing and the outer ring. This can happen, for example, with a temperature increase or temperature change. The elastomer ring should thus compensate for an increase in clearance which can arise, for example, at an operating temperature.
For manufacturing reasons, conventional bearing outer rings often have an undercut at a boundary between the flange and the outer surface of the outer ring having the smaller diameter. The undercut can be configured as a radially encircling groove.
When forces act on the temperature-compensation ring, it begins to deform and, in a certain sense, flow. In some cases this can cause a part of the elastomer ring to flow into the groove, and thus a volume of the temperature compensation ring, i.e., the volume that has flowed into the groove, is not available for the compensation of the clearance. To prevent this, in some conventional outer rings the groove is covered by a ring or plate or a metal-plate ring, which is an additional component of the bearing system. In addition, a further assembly step is required to install this further component. These difficulties with temperature compensation may be present in any bearings and their bearing rings.
There is therefore a desire to balance the need to compensate for a clearance with the need to simply the installation of a bearing ring and at the same time ensure the reliably of the assembly.